


Fixer Upper

by guessimdemoms



Series: Strange Magic [8]
Category: Arrested Development
Genre: Deities, F/M, Gen, Witchcraft, a song fic? what is this 2007
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:08:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29159430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guessimdemoms/pseuds/guessimdemoms
Summary: After a disastrous first encounter with Gob, Meredith writes him completely off. Too bad her deities have other plans.
Relationships: George Oscar "Gob" Bluth/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Strange Magic [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982122





	Fixer Upper

**Author's Note:**

> A song fic? What is this 2007? 
> 
> Bit of a background to how Meredith and Gob at least started talking. This takes place during 2014.

Meredith dried her hair with a towel and let it drop to the floor with a sigh. Of all her luck, she prays to her deities for a decent man and this is who they decide to send. This felt worse then when they convinced her to dye the tips of her hair blue; Disney never let her hear the end of that one for weeks. As Meredith began sorting the make-up she’d be using for the afternoon, she felt a presence behind her and she grimaced. 

“Go away Maria.” Meredith ordered. 

“So how’d it go with Gob?” Maria asked, bouncing in place. 

“Oh fabulous Maria.” Meredith announced whipping around to face the spirit. “I tried talking to him, he used a creepy as fuck pick up line on me, and I slapped him so hard we both fell in the pool.” The young woman spun back around and picked up her beauty sponge. “You sure know how to pick ‘em.” 

“Alright so it didn’t work out this time but next time you talk to him I’m sure it’ll be a hit.” Maria announced. Meredith spun back around to face the spirit, mouth agape.

“NEXT TIME? There won’t be a next time Maria, I’m never talking to him ever again.” 

“You have to give him a chance!” Maria pointed out. 

“You sent me a scumbag magician when I asked for a good man, and let me say that again you set me up with a magician! No thanks!” With that, Meredith spun back around to continue her make-up leaving the spirit trying to figure out her next step. 

“She makes a good point, Maria.” Persephone pointed out, appearing next to the grand duchess with Hades behind her. 

“Oh quiet pomegranate.” Maria ordered. She bit her lip before appearing next to the young woman.

“Alright, look so he didn’t give the best first impression.” Maria began. 

“You can say that again.” Meredith muttered. 

“But that doesn’t mean you can give up! He’s just….a fixer upper!” Maria announced. Meredith stopped blending in her concealer and turned to look at her spirit with slow rage on her face. 

“What?” Meredith hissed. 

“Yeah! Like the song says!” Maria added. 

“Oh no, you’re not using my love of Disney against me….” 

Maria: 

Is it the clumpy way he walks?  
Or the grumpy way he talks?  
Or the pear-shaped, square-shaped  
Weirdness of his feet?

“Okay you know what, I’m not doing this.” Meredith announced before going back to applying her make-up. Maria looked desperately at the other deities, and Persephone sighed and appeared to Renee’s right. 

Persephone: 

And though we know he washes well  
He always ends up sort of smelly  
Hey  
But you'll never meet a fellow who's as  
Sensitive and sweet!

“Oh not you too!” Meredith yelled, glaring at the goddess before attempting to contour her face. That’s when she felt herself grabbed and spun around to face all three spirits. 

All three: 

So he's a bit of a fixer-upper  
So he's got a few flaws  
Like his peculiar brain dear  
His thing with the reindeer  
That's a little outside of nature's laws!  
So he's a bit of a fixer-upper  
But this we're certain of  
You can fix this fixer-upper  
Up with a little bit of love!

“Can we please stop this? This is ridiculous.” Meredith begged, turning back to her mirror. 

Hades: 

Is it the way that he runs scared?

Maria: 

Or that he's socially impaired?

Persephone: 

Or that he only likes to tinkle in the woods

“Wait he DOES?” Meredith asked looking up from her eyeliner. 

“I don’t know, it was just the next line.” Persephone said with a shrug. Meredith rolled her eyes and capped her eyeliner pen. 

Maria: 

Is his thick and curly back hair  
Maybe throwing you off track there?

“I don’t want to think about that.” Meredith said, shuddering. 

Hades: 

Or the way he covers up  
That he's the honest goods?

All three: 

So he's just a bit of a fixer-upper  
He's got a couple of bugs

“Probably more than a couple.” Meredith muttered, finished with her make-up and adjusting her hair do.   
All three: 

His isolation is confirmation  
Of his desperation for human hugs  
He's just a bit of a fixer-upper  
But we know what to do  
The way to fix up this fixer-upper  
Is to fix him up with you!

“Try all you’d like guys, I’m not falling for him. I think your judgement is failing.” Meredith announced, finally standing up. She moved over to the porthole of her room to gaze out at the deck that was underneath the staff rooms of the Dream. Conveniently under her particular porthole was the bar attached to the adult deck, and sitting at said bar was Gob. Meredith stopped fiddling with her hair as she looked down at him, nursing a drink and looking completely miserable. He looked shell shocked and lonely, and wouldn’t even look up when a cast member (Meredith recognized her as Diana) approached him and tried to flirt. 

Maria: 

We aren't saying you can change him  
'Cause people don't really change  
We're only saying that love's a force  
That's powerful and strange

Meredith bit her lip and gently touched the glass of the porthole as Gob downed his drink. He happened to glance up and lock eyes with the young woman, and slowly put down his glass in shock. 

Persephone: 

Human make bad choices if they're mad  
Or scared, or stressed  
But throw a little love their way!

Gob gave a little wave with his crooked smile which prompted Meredith to wave back shyly. Maria squealed and grabbed Persephone’s arm, shaking her with excitement. 

“IT’S HAPPENING!” 

“You’re going to make me SICK!” Persephone yelled.   
Hades: 

And you'll bring out their best  
True love brings out their best!

Meredith quickly made hand signals to indicate she was going to go lobby and maybe he should meet her there before turning back around to face her deities. 

“I’m going to meet him!” Meredith announced quickly before hurrying off. 

“Huh. Maybe your dumb little plan worked.” Persephone muttered, watching as Meredith hurried out the door. 

“See! I told you!” Maria insisted jumping up and down, and probably already planning their wedding. 

Everyone's a bit of a fixer-upper  
That's what it's all about!  
Call a sister or brother

Gob downed his drink and slapped the glass on the bar before jumping up. 

“Hey buddy, you need to pay for that!” The bartender yelled, temporarily losing his Disney voice. 

“Put it on Michael Bluth’s tab!” Gob yelled after him before hurrying into the crowd. 

When you need each other  
To raise us up and round us out  
Everyone's a bit of a fixer-upper  
But when push comes to shove

Meredith ran into the lobby of the ship, looking past all the characters, parents, and free roaming children for any sign of the magician. For a brief moment, she feared Gob didn’t understand what she was trying to say until she spotted a lanky, tall man run out of the opposite hallway looking just as lost. 

“Mr. Bluth!” Meredith yelled, trying to wave over the crowd. Gob spotted the petite woman and hurried over, pushing past all the tourists before finally being face-to-face with the cast member that had captured his attention. 

It was like time stood still, and it was only them in the room.   
The only fixer-upper fixer  
That can fix up a fixer-upper is

“Hi.” Meredith said shyly, ringing her hands a little.

“Hey.” Gob smiled. 

True! true!  
True, true, true!  
Love

“You want to start over?” Meredith asked. 

“I’d like that.” Gob admitted, feeling nervous for the first time in his life. He never felt this way about a woman, why was he suddenly feeling like a teenage boy? 

“I’m Meredith Young.” Meredith announced. 

“Gob Bluth.” Gob added. 

“Is that your real name?” Meredith asked teasingly. Gob snickered and felt himself blush. 

“Oh no, I was named after my father, I’m actually George Bluth. Everyone just calls me Gob.” Gob explained. 

True love  
Love

“Um, I have a shift Oceaneer Club, would you like….to walk with me?” Meredith asked, feeling her heart jump in her throat. 

“I-I’d love to.” Gob whispered. The two began to walk away, unaware of three spirits watching them go.

“Well Maria you did it.” Hades announced. “Looks like they’re going to fall in love.” 

“Not so fast, you’ve seen his family. His mother and father will do anything to keep him under control.” Persephone announced. 

“Oh please, they won’t do shit pardon my unladylike language.” Maria explained. “Nothing stops true love.” 

BONUS: 

“I can’t for the life of me get this new trick down, I saw the magician do it in the show last night but he did the slip of the hand so easily.” Gob explained as the two made their way down the bowels of the ship.

“I can ask him how to do it if you’d like.” Meredith offered. 

“Nah, that’s against alliance code and I don’t want to be even more black listed.” Gob said with a shrug. 

“Alliance?” 

“It’s a long story.” Gob admitted. The two reached the doorway of the Oceaneer Club and faced one another once again, as parents and kids zipped all around them. 

“This was nice.” Meredith said softly. 

“It was, I’d like to do it again, if you want.” Gob said, nervously scratching the back of his head. 

“Tomorrow I have off, if you’d like to catch some lunch.” Meredith offered, her heart jumping into her throat again. Everything about her upbringing was screaming at her that this was wrong, but she was relaxed when Gob smiled. 

“I’d love that.” 

“Great! We can try Cabana’s, it’s a pretty good buffet--” 

“Young let’s go!” An older cast member standing at the check-in station yelled. 

“I’m coming Wanda!” Meredith yelled before rolling her eyes. 

“See you tomorrow around two?” Gob asked. 

“Two it is.” Meredith said, smiling back before turning and disappearing into the club with the other parents and kids. Gob watched the cast member go, feeling something inside of him that he never had before. His brain was screaming at him just to leave her and find a waitress to bang but his heart was telling him that Meredith was special, and he should try with her unlike Kitty or Marta.   
“Brother are you in love?” 

“CHRIST Buster!” Gob yelled, jumping at the sudden appearance of his little brother, who had just left the Oceaneer Club (Lucille bribed them to let him in). 

“You like her don’t you.” Buster teased waving his hook in Gob’s face, making him feel suddenly sick. 

“Stop that.” Gob ordered, batting the hook away from his face before gazing into the entrance of the club, in the sea of parents, characters, kids, and cast members. 

“Meredith is special…...I can’t describe it but...she’s...special.” Gob whispered. “I….I’ve never felt like this before…”


End file.
